Who You Really Are
by Askor
Summary: After leaving her father on the ice bridge, Aleu begins a journey to find her true purpose. However she finds herself responsible for a pack of unfamiliar wolves who are fighting for survival and need the strength of a strong leader to guide them. Faced with this, she must find a way to bring the wolves together in crises, and in the process discover who she really is. New Chps!
1. Ice Bridge

Turning her back to the harsh winds and towards her future Aleu began to realise the gravity of what had just taken place. Her fur was still wet from her swim between the ice flows and her body was going numb, both on the outside and in.

She had left her father behind. He was her teacher, her protector, and guardian throughout her whole life, but she had chosen to leave, to start a new life without the comfort of familiarity, surrounded unfamiliar by wolves. The ice beneath her paws moved slowly, creating what felt like a lullaby, rocking her back and forth. Her eyes closed, the cold air combed her thick fur away from her face.

Suddenly the ice cracked ahead of her. Her ears, picking up on the sound begged her eyes to open. The danger set in. She realised she had to go now or drown alone in the unforgiving Arctic waters.

Turning around she saw a group of strangers. Creatures she had never met before, and she had chosen to be one of them. Justifying that choice in her head was becoming harder the farther she felt from her farther, but she had to push on.

Looking ahead, the path of ice still formed a bridge to the other side, clearly directing her to a new future, one she hoped would be prosperous and would help her finally become who she was meant to be.

She took her first steps mindlessly, out of instinct. One paw in front of the other she dug her claws into the ice for stability, careful to be sure footed before taking the next step. Gaining confidence she started to walk a little faster, and started to jump from piece to piece across the bridge. She could feel and hear others creeping behind her, just as unsure as she was.

She turned around just in time to see the ice flows beginning to separate and scatter off into the distance. She panicked. She turned. She ran.

They didn't have much time to make it and there was no sign of shore in sight. The wolves began to separate. Taking different paths in different directions they had no idea which way the island was, and had no way to tell as they couldn't see through all the dense fog and snow.

Aleu, ahead of the group, was breathing hard. She rushed ahead, losing the pack behind her. She was afraid. She was going to be left out here to die of starvation, or drown.

"Whichever was less painful," she thought. A tear rolled down her snout onto cheeks. She breathed in the thick air and exhaled. Her heart stopped.

She caught it. The scent of pine. She stopped running and turned behind her, let out a bellowing call to the others. She had been so lost in herself that she had almost forgotten her responsibilities. Wolves answered her back, and she howled again. It was a call of hope, and relief. Soon the others managed to come together one by one to slowly form a pack once again.

They followed their noses towards the fresh smell, and it eventually lead to safety. The shore began to introduce itself. Its rich greens and browns were the first displays of prosperity. Followed by its tall cliffs and mountain peaks, similar to the land they inhabited before, but teeming with life.

Aleu continued on, a little less afraid now as the ice they walked on now covered shallow waters. The sight of the forest moved her. Since she had left home she hadn't seen such a lively place, except this wasn't lively with humans, it was animals.

Birds sang from the trees their sweet unwritten songs. Fish swam below them towards a nearby stream. Most fish wouldn't make the whole journey, and those that did would die and not return. However not before giving rise to new life, and starting a new cycle.

The wolves and Aleu stepped foot on the beach. Its sandy, rocky texture was the islands way of welcoming them, after their journey across the slippery ice. However that welcome was to be cut short.

"What were you thinking!?" A dark brown she wolf asked angrily as she stepped onto the shore with the last of the pack. Aleu turned to face her, taken by surprise she turned her ears downward, and her tail uncontrollably sunk between her legs.

"You almost got half of us killed! What kind of a leader are you? You ran and left us to fend for ourselves, maybe Nava was wrong, you're not fit to be a leader," she barked as she walked away. Some wolves followed her off up into the cliff side, while others seemed confused still.

Aleu came to the realization of what she had done. The she wolf was right, she had left everyone behind, and in her panicked fear she had forgotten about everyone else. This wasn't who she was before. This isn't what Nava thought she would have turned out to be. This certainly wasn't what she wanted to be.

She had decided to stay because she had felt like she didn't belong home, and already here she had made herself look foolish and weak in front of the others. She looked around at the other wolves searching for answers. Unfortunately they were all doing the same to her. They were a pack without a leader, they had no one to follow and no one they could trust. Unsure and afraid, the other wolves spilt off in different groups leaving Aleu alone.

She sat on the beach, the cold air still blowing through her still damp fur, and she listened. She felt helpless. She had thought that after this journey was over that she would have all the answers, but here she had been left with more questions.

She had come all this way to find out who she was, and so far she didn't like who she had become. Leaving her whole life behind her had hurt, and it was hard for her to suddenly fill the shoes of such a wise leader that Nava was for all these wolves who were left in nothing less than a crises. Thinking to herself, feeling increasingly lost, she shut her eyes, laid down and sighed.

All of the sudden she reopened her eyes and sat her front of her, appearing out of nowhere per usual, was an old friend.


	2. Forest Floor

Hi guys, glad to see the first chapter getting some attention so early, so instead of leaving you guys in suspense I decided to add another chapter early! Tell me what you guys think, talk to you soon

-Askor

It was Muru, her spirit guardian. Still just acquaintances, he startled her a bit but she was still happy to see him just the same.

"Off to a rough start I see," he said in his friendly comforting voice. Even though he usually appeared as a field mouse, Aleu still felt a little safer with him watching over her.

"I feel terrible, I'm beginning to wonder if this is really what I was supposed to do…" Aleu drifted off. She didn't feel like she quite fit in as much as she thought she would. Instead of being welcomed with open arms, the rest of the pack left. She didn't know what to do.

"Well, how do you know this is not what you are supposed to do?" Muru asked.

"I guess I don't," she answered, "but I don't even know what to do here. I've never hunted before and how am I supposed to find the others? I don't know how to BE a wolf, even if I am meant to be one." Coming to that conclusion Aleu turned her back on her spirt guide, and walked into the forest, hoping to get some shelter from the winds.

"Continue the journey my friend, for it has just begun," the winds whispered. Aleu turned around to see nothing but the wind blowing across the shore. Her heart sank a little, knowing Muru was gone, but she had felt better that she was reminded that she was never alone.

She journeyed into the island looking for a place that she could find to sleep. Today's events had really took a strain on her and she felt as though rest would do her some good. She came across a fallen tree, massive in size, which was leaning across a few boulders. It looked homey enough for her to hunker down, lay her head on her paws and sleep.

The next morning she woke up with a rumble in her stomach. Being part dog for the majority of her life, she had forgotten the responsibility of having to provide food for herself, and by this time she was starving. She stood up and stretched. It was a rainy day outside and the water seeped into the dirt creating pools of water throughout the wood. Aleu's fur was dirty with mud and small pieces of twigs so she gave herself a little shake. Her long brown tawny fur regained some of its previous beauty, but was about to become wet again when she stepped out into the rain.

Suddenly a rabbit scurried between the trees in the distance, catching Aleu's eye. She crouched low to the ground and moved behind a thick tree to hide and observe. The rabbit was a fair size, it wouldn't satisfy her for long but she felt like she needed it. Badly.

She began to stalk it, similar how she used to stalk Muck and Luck back in her younger days. She used the trees and dirt as cover, using her fur as the natural camouflage it was made for. The mossy forest floor silenced her steps making it easy for her to sneak up on the rabbits highly sensitive ears. Progressing she got closer and closer to her prey, gaining confidence she was getting ready to start a chase.

Aleu leaped out from behind her hiding place and took the rabbit by surprise. However this wasn't the rabbits first run, and it began running off in a different direction towards denser forests. Aleu tried her hardest to keep up with the twists and turns, she knew she would have to catch up with the rabbit soon, otherwise he may gain enough distance to get away from her.

The rabbit took the low ground under a log thinking it would get away, but Aleu used the strength in her legs to jump onto the top of it and pushed herself into the air and propelled herself forward. This move did allow her to gain some ground but she still had some work to go.

After a few more minutes of chasing Aleu sensed the rabbit tiring. Her body was built for stamina, the long chase. The rabbit was meant for a quick get away, but his time was slowly ticking away. She was creeping up on the rabbit's fluffy tail, she could almost taste it. One mistake was all that it would take.

Gone. The rabbit disappeared. Quickly Aleu put on the brakes and turned around, and instinctually used her nose. She smelled him, she thought,

"He can't be far". Then she spied a hole in the ground. Quietly she pivoted, prepared her muscles and pounced.

Grabbing the rabbit from its hiding place she pinned him down using her large paws so she could readjust her bite as her instincts told her. Clamping down on its neck, the rabbit stopped moving, and Aleu knew she was successful.

She took her prey back to her makeshift den, and sat down to eat her catch proudly, feeling a little more confident today than yesterday. The meat felt so good in her empty stomach as she tore as much meat off the bones as she could, making the most of her kill. Enjoying herself she failed to notice the approach of another creature lurking in the woods.

It moved towards the smell of the meat, intending on stealing what little she had for its own selfish needs. Aleu looked up, but it was already too late to react. The wolverine was already charging her and preventing a safe escape from her den. It growled and bared its sharp teeth emphasizing its dominance over her, and striking fear into her heart. Looking into his eyes she saw that all he wanted was the food. The answer came to her and she knew what to do to escape. She used her mouth to toss the meat over the wolverines head.

He chased after it, turning his back to the den allowing Aleu to make a quick exist with the small quantity of food she had in her stomach.


	3. Strange Camp

While the rain continued to poor down onto Aleu's coat she ventured deeper into the forest to try and get an idea of her surroundings. She climbed higher into the mountains, losing her footing in the deep mud on the inclines but she continued on.

Getting to the top of her current slope she could see far and wide. A heard of caribou were grazing down in a valley a great distance away from her. She looked closer and could make out a couple of figures in the trees around them. Wolves.

It was some of the wolves which had separated from the pack. Among them, the brown she wolf. They seemed to be watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike. Aleu could see 4 of them in total and being that it was raining she assumed that these wolves must be hungry to be hunting out in the open in all the mud.

The wolves started their hunt slowly, stalking just as Aleu had earlier that day. The sun was beginning to set now, making it difficult for Aleu to see. She decided to descend down to the valley to get a better view, and maybe offer some help to try and make up for yesterday's events.

The herd began to scatter as a warning call was given. The wolves began their chase, targeting a bull slightly older in age but seemed to still have a bit of go left in him. The pack followed the bull into the trees right where they wanted him, it was much easier to catch up with such a large animal when it was forced to navigate through rough terrain.

They wanted him badly. Ever since the herd and crossed the ice ahead of them they had been left to starve.

"This bull will feed the clan for a few days," the brown she wolf thought to herself as she neared the bull's hind.

Aleu was almost at the bottom of the hill when she saw the caribou heading toward her the pack in close pursuit. She knelt down, so low that she could feel ferns brushing up against her belly.

"If a can help take this caribou down maybe they'll give me and second chance," she hoped. The bull ran closer, not seeing her until it was too late.

Aleu leaped out of the bushes and managed to knock the bull of balance. He tumbled down knocking into a nearby tree. The other wolves were soon on top of him, the brown she wolf finishing the kill. Aleu walked towards them, tail wagging happy to have helped.

A couple of the wolves looked up and gave her a thankful nod. It wasn't much, but she would take it. After the brown she wolf released her grip, she turned to face Aleu.

"Couldn't have just gone for the throat yourself?" She asked annoyed. Her coat was soaked with water and her paws and jaw were tainted with red. The rain above, although slightly covered by the trees, was dripping from her large ears. Her remark took Aleu by surprise, but she felt she was entitled to bit more than just a snarky comment.

"It doesn't matter how it happened, you have your kill either way." Aleu stepped closer, hoping for her own opportunity to eat.

"Not so fast", the she wolf blocked Aleu's path stepping closer to her, "You may have helped catch it, but that doesn't mean you deserve any!"

Aleu bared her teeth. She was getting increasingly ticked off with this chick. What was her problem, she didn't want much, just a couple bites to get her through the next couple days. What she wanted even more than that was to belong, and this wolf was making it more and more difficult.

"I see you have fangs, what side did you get those little things from? Must have been your mother's ha-ha." The wolf laughed and turned around to get herself some of the kill.

"Bitch," Aleu muttered to herself. She turned around and once again became one with the bush.

She didn't understand why this particular wolf was on her case. She had tried to be nice, she knew she had failed as a leader at first, but she didn't know the first thing about leading a pack. Stumbling into another deep forest Aleu searched for some shelter.

It was dark now, and becoming colder by the minute. Trying to stick to the high ground to get a better view of where she was heading Aleu spotted smoke in the distance. Recognising it from her days living near a town, she associated this with humans.

This could be both a good thing and a bad thing for her. Her father and shown her in the past that humans couldn't always be trusted as they weren't always capable of understanding your intentions. Her wolf like colors and build didn't help much either. However this type of loneliness sometimes required a sense of home, and maybe it was better if she did some observations anyway.

It took her a couple hours to make it to within seeing distance. The moon was visible in the sky now amongst all the stars. They puzzled her at first, but she concluded that these were indeed still humans, just a different kind. They worse long thick clothes, with unique patterns she was unfamiliar with. They all seemed to have long black hair which was tied back away from their faces.

Aleu also saw dogs. Smaller than her, and looked like her mother.

"Must be huskies," she thought. She saw the humans gently petting them and offering them food. Her stomach still wasn't full, and the smell was getting to her.

"Maybe this is my chance!" She walked up tail wagging being sure to keep her mouth closed to keep from showing her teeth. She moved forward cautiously and approached the others.

One of the dogs noticed her, and alerted the others with a bark. Soon enough the eyes of seven other dogs were up and watching her to. Aleu was careful to put on a show and act as friendly as possible, knowing it was a risky strategy, but also knowing to trust her instincts.

It wasn't long before a human showed up. He was tall, and strange. He had markings over his face, and a bit of a confused look, which then molded into a friendly one. He turned around and came back a second later with another bowl of food. He walked toward Aleu and she backed off just in case, making sure to mind her own safety. The human seemed to recognise this, and place the bowl down where he then stood. He backed away giving her plenty of room, but then decided to leave again, this time not returning.

Aleu walked up to the bowl and tasted its delicious containments, still making sure to keep the tail wagging, and look up every once and a while. During this time she noticed that the dogs were already ignoring her presence.

Something told her that meant this wasn't a strange occurrence for them. She noted in her mind that if she was ever in need of food that she couldn't find on her own she would check here. She was comforted in knowing that there was still hope and friendship to be found out here in the wild.

She licked her lips and ventured back into the woods with a full belly. Tired and content she laid in a small cave, rested her head on her large paws and drifted into a blissful sleep.

What do you guys think of Aleu's discovery? Do you think that she will ever get back into the pack? Let me know what you think, and I'll be talking to you guys soon!

 _ **-Askor**_


	4. Looming Clearing

Waking up with some new found confidence, Aleu decided she was going to set out and try and find some other members of the pack. She knew in her heart that they all needed to be together, and they were a family. That's what Nava would have told her, had he been able to make the journey.

She got up and stretched her legs. The island was blessed with sun today accompanied with its familiar cold winds, but it still felt nice instead of her usual damp fur she was used to. Her sharp claws disturbed the ground, scratching the surface as she crept out of her den.

She thought of today as a challenge. She would need to use her nose to try and pick up a trail of one of the wolves and try to track them down. Finding a trail on this massive island would be a bit difficult. Then an idea came to her,

"I should go back to the caribou kill from yesterday, maybe I'll pick up a scent from there". Aleu looked around for a moment trying to remember the exact direction. Turning to the one which most familiar she started off.

Running through the woods was so natural for her. She used this time to think to herself. She was truly wild now. Grown up and free. She could do as she pleased and make her own decisions now. Even though she didn't always feel that she was ready to fill Nava's role, she still had confidence that one day she would. Just not right now.

After a couple hours of moving through the forest she came across the site of the hunt. Something sparked her immediately as not quite right. There was barley any meat left on the carcass at all. Four wolves could certainly put a dent into a kill such as this, but not this quickly.

She inched closer, carful to keep her ears alert for any possibility of danger. Then it hit her. The unrecognised smell. It was not new, just different. She knew what it was straight away. Other wolves. Not from her clan. They must have crossed the bridge while her clan was still in the midst of making up their minds.

She didn't like the idea of this. Crossing territories only meant one thing, they would have to fight over resources. There wasn't enough on this island, as rich as it was, to support two packs of wolves. They would only wipe out the populations and there wouldn't be any animals left to migrate back across the ice flows in the coming years and both lands would become baron.

Aleu imagined the sad truth and tried to come to grips of what she just discovered. What was she to do? She didn't want to lead a fight against anyone, much less a pack of other wolves. She decided to try and find her own clan and see if they had discovered this new information yet, and warn them if they hadn't. Some decisions had to be made, and Aleu felt that it was urgent that they all come together, even if they may not all want her to be there.

She quickly found her clans scent and followed it to a side of the island she had yet to explore. Here seemed to be slightly flatter terrain with a greater population of deciduous trees and shrubs, accompanied by taller grass. This made the packs path even easier to follow as the grass had already been flatted.

Aleu could sense the smell getting slightly stronger,

"I must be on the right trail", she thought. Unfortunately for her she was failing to notice she was being tracked as well.

Making their way behind her, were the other wolves she had smelt earlier. They had visited their leftovers short after Aleu and decided to follow her scent. Now making little, if any, noise they stalked her as if they were hunting prey.

Their large bodies, were strong and fit. Their muscles had been replenished after finishing off Aleu's packs kill, but also strong from previous successes. They were skillful and experienced. Not to be messed with. If you could have seen their teeth, it would have sent chills down your spine, and brought up childhood nightmares. Their eyes were glowing, forever wild, the colors danced in them. Their history was still unknown, but what their future would hold looked to be predictable. They were catching up to Aleu.

Unaware of an impending threat, Aleu continued on her marry way. Making good ground now she could tell that she wasn't far off from where the pack was staying. She assumed that despite their discordance at the beginning of their journey they would naturally all return together. They were still family. The family Aleu was looking to prove something to.

She was hoping that maybe telling them about the possibility of another pack might prove her worth to them. She remembered that the other pack members had somewhat thanked her for her help when she took down the bull caribou but she still wasn't one hundred percent sure what kind of reaction she would get from everyone.

She came within sight of the others, they were nestled amongst short trees which surrounded a make-shift den inside of a cave. There were a couple cliffs giving the valley a sturdy, steep wall behind it.

Just as she stepped into the clearing, not yet noticed by the others, the wind changed. With a slight turn of her head out of instinct she caught a scent. She glanced behind her and saw nothing. With her duty still present in her head, she turned back around and stepped towards the pack once again.

However this time she was abruptly stopped. A vision came to her, it was as if it was another point of view. She could see a long dark snout, low to the ground, with leaves and ferns in the way of this creature's line of sight. Then for s split second, she saw herself in the clearing.

Her eyes then all too soon became her own again, she quickly turned around and looked hard into the bushes she had just come from. Not a soul was there, at least not anymore.

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Another double chapter day (kind of)! Hope you all enjoyed this suspenseful chapter! Let me know what you thought, and any predictions you may have. I'm really interested and curious as to what you guys have to say. Talk to you again soon,

 _ **-Askor**_


	5. Pack Territory

Shaken, Aleu stepped backward toward the clearing. Careful not to take her eyes off the forest. She knew someone was in there watching her, she just didn't know if she was going to encounter them today or sometime in the future.

Putting her thoughts to the back of her mind she headed towards the clan. The majority of the wolves were present, she assumed any others were off hunting for themselves or exploring their new territory. Not something she necessarily wanted considering her recent discovery.

She was beginning to attract the attention of the others upon her approach. Some of them started wagging their tails, excited to see her. This brought a bit of comfort, it was unfortunate that they would be meeting again under these conditions.

"I think I have bad news," Aleu started. "there's other wolves here". Her words gained the attention of the other surrounding wolves. Including her biggest fan, the brown she wolf. It didn't surprise Aleu that she was the first one to question her findings.

"What evidence do you have for this"? She asked almost laughingly. Aleu didn't have the patience to deal with this girl's shit right now.

"The kill made yesterday has a new scent on it. Not from us." Aleu could see the others become slightly nervous. Their ears, fully raised, ready to pick up any danger.

"Oh please, what you could have smelt might have been a muskrat." The brown female spoke again.

"Muskrats don't devourer a bull caribou over night!" Aleu said with a harsh tone tainting her voice. She had been intimidated enough, but then the brown wolf continued.

"You don't think it could have been any other creature out here wanting a free meal? Honestly I think it's time you went back to the puppy mill you came from, your not made to be a wolf." As the brown wolf uttered those words Aleu's stomach turned. Then another grey wolf spoke up,

"That's enough out of you, Kaleua. What if she's right? We can't take the threat of our entry into another packs territory lightly. She came here to help us and Nava saw something special in her, Aniu is with her." This other wolf's supportive words gave Aleu a reason to stand a little taller.

She sometimes forgot that there were others standing behind her, and this was supposed to be her destiny. Kaleua was now silenced, at least for now so Aleu decided now was the time to try and display some leadership.

"We don't know who these wolves are, what they believe in or what they are capable of. I think it's in our best interest to stick together, and maybe try to speak with them." A few of the wolves nodded their head's in agreement. But still Aleu knew she may still not have everyone convinced so she kept talking.

"We may be able to peacefully work out sharing resources and even learn from them. The most important part is that we do not come off as threatening. That's not what we are here for and that's not what's best for anyone." Aleu finished, confident in her argument.

Her audience now seemed to be more supportive. They were all calling out their agreement. The next thing to do would be to try and reach out to the other clan. Aleu assumed they were on the other side of the island because besides the recent encounter, no one had seen any signs of them.

She was still wary. She was almost positive that she had been followed, but perhaps it was out of nothing more than curiosity, they hadn't attacked her right?

Maybe if they were honest about their intentions here the other pack would be understanding. Aleu knew that she couldn't put the pack in danger and not addressing this issue seriously could lead to conflict with no where to go on this island. They would be stuck running and hiding until the ice bridge formed again. Not a future she was hoping for.

"So what should we do now Aleu? " An older dark wolf asked, his snout beginning to show some gray hairs from his age.

Aleu looked to the sky beyond the pine trees. She could see the sun beginning to hide behind them. It was beautiful. The colors in the sky were shades of orange, pink and purple. However not ideal timing.

"Nothing tonight. Traveling during the night may give them the impression that we are trying to sneak up on them. I'd like to be as forthcoming as possible." Aleu explained.

"What if they aren't so friendly?" Kaleua asked, getting a bit of her critical attitude back. Without much thought Aleu came up with a quick plan.

"That's where you and I come in." She wanted to use Kaleua's dominant nature for something other than insulting her. "We are going to head out ourselves tonight and see where this pack is located and what their numbers are. This way we can better prepare if we do end up in danger."

Kaleua tried hard to hide the slight surprise on her face. She was eager to do whatever needed to be done, but was conflicted as to why Aleu would want to spend time with her after all she had said to her. Nevertheless she nodded her head.

Aleu looked up to the sky again. The moon would soon be up as the sky was now airbrushed with darker hues. Night was fast approaching, it was time to go.

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That's it for this chapter! Sorry for not posting as quickly as usual, I've been preparing for my exams and busy with regular life events haha. Hope you guys are enjoying reading as much as I do writing! See you soon!

- _ **Askor**_


	6. Faint Trail

The two females stepped into the forest, Aleu taking the lead so she could pick up the infamous smell from earlier this morning. She remembered it well, and it hit her hard just outside the clearing. They had been here all right.

"Smell, " Aleu said motioning with her nose towards the odor so Kaleua could help her track.

"Oh I've got it." She scoffed. She shook her dark chocolate coat, as if the smell had sunk into her bones. "Do you think we should follow this trail behind them, or backtrack their scent from our kill, " she asked. Aleu thought for a minute and weighed her options. This wasn't an aggressive mission, it needed to be very passive. She'd rather avoid any unnecessary interaction.

"We should use the older trail, even though it isn't as fresh, I'd rather not risk bumping into them," she explained.

The two picked up their pace after that. They agreed that it would take them more time once they got to the kill to start tracking, plus the longer it took them to get there the fainter the scent was be. Both of them were fairly quick, although Aleu was slightly faster because of her lighter build, another trait she had probably gotten from her mom. It was this time however that she thanked her dad for his endurance and large paws. Both traits were helping her keep up the pace.

Kaleua noticed this. She couldn't help but change her perception of Aleu a even just a little.

She admitted to herself she had been hard on Aleu. This was only because she felt the responsibility to take care of this pack. Despite being only a little older than Aleu she had been through her fair share of hardship with her clan.

She sighed. She recalled being left deep in the forest alone, and not being old enough to fend for herself. She could still smell the unforgiving metallic substance that had shattered the air, leaving her delicate ears ringing and her delicate life ruined.

It was a few days later after traveling many miles that she met her adoptive mother. Although she wasn't blood related, she knew her guardian would always watch over her and she would always miss her.

Back to the present, the two had come up on the kill, they had made good time as the moon was only halfway to the top of the sky. Aleu immediately dropped her head looking for the scent. She turned her ears back and took in deep breathes. It was still here, but barley.

"I've got it but we'll need to pay close attention to it, it will get harder to track the further we go." Aleu said, with a bit of concern in her voice.

"We should both zig-zag over the trail, that way we'll catch it if it changes paths and we'll be able to tell its general direction." Kaleua suggested. Aleu nodded, taking note of how well they had been working together. Hopefully this would continue and this mission would run smoothly.

The girls continued their trek. Not as quickly now, but more cautious and intricate. As the night got deeper, so did the forest. They followed the trail to a far off land, only losing the scent a couple of times but regaining it shortly after.

Aleu trotted on occasionally double checking the ground making sure she was still on the scent. Although she was fairly sure she knew the general direction by now. Way up ahead she could see a tall mountain, it was covered in freshly fallen snow as it was higher in altitude.

"Oh no." She said aloud.

"What?" Kaleua answered heading over to where Aleu stood.

"The snow is going to cover what's left of the scent. I don't know if we'll be able to smell it." Aleu responded slightly discouraged, but then added, "I think if we head in the same direction and make it to the top we might be able to spot them from there"

"It's worth the shot, we didn't come all the way for nothing." Kaleua said as she started towards the mountain in the distance.

Getting there would still take them a while, but it seemed as though they were confident they could make it before sunrise. The moon was high in the sky now, but showing signs of falling as the girls pressed on.

Aleu felt relaxed. Despite having differences before she was glad she took Kaleua with her. She hoped that when they returned home Kaleua may be at least a little more convinced that she could one day lead the pack, they had avoided conflict so far. She could even learn a thing or two from her.

It was sometime after that they arrived at the base of the mountain. The snow under Aleu's paws was cold, it reminded her of the ice bridge and it was surprising to her that it was only a short time ago. She had done and been through so much already, it was all very new, but exciting as well.

Her sharp claws dug in and gave her an edge as she ascended up the steep incline. The wind was a little harsher now, but she could see ahead some trees nestled into a bit of a shallower part of the climb.

Just as the two reached the start of the tree line Aleu spotted what seemed to me a man made path. She got a little excited naturally and rushed off. She came onto the path and sure enough there were sled tracks here.

"This will make it so much easier to get to the top. Come on let's go!" Aleu said excitedly.

"Not a chance in HELL." Kaleua said from in the trees. She didn't dare step into that trail.

Aleu was a bit taken back by Kaleua's response, "why? What's wrong?"

"You dumbass, I'm not going anywhere near that!" she said.

"It's just a trail, it's going to make this trip so much easier." Aleu said puzzled.

Just as Kaleua was about to answer back her ears picked up on something and it made her hair stand up on her back. Dogs. "Get off that path, NOW!"

"What's wrong with you? It's no big deal, we can just wait for them to pa-"

Without a second thought Kaleua jumped into the path, bit Aleu by the scruff of her neck and hauled her into the trees. She laid down, put her paw over Aleu's muzzle to keep her quiet. She shut her own eyes and stopped breathing as she waited for the sled dogs the go by.

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Hi everyone! Just to let you guys know I apologize for the slower updating, I've actually just started my final exams for this term. I've defiantly not lost interest in the story, school just has to come first for the next week. I'll continue to update as often as I can and I hope you guys continue to leave great reviews and enjoy reading, thanks so much and I'll see you again soon! Wish me luck haha!

- _ **Askor**_


	7. Conflict Mountain

"Are you bat-shit crazy?" Kaleua growled, releasing Aleu out from under her claws. Aleu stood back onto her feet and she watched the strange man ride away with his dogs in his sled. Just like she had seen a million times before, however this time unfortunately was a little different. She looked down at the snow, and saw red. Her neck stung and she could feel the wind breeze through the puncture holes.

"No, I'm not." She answered, trying to maintain her composure almost unsuccessfully. Her fur was starting to stain red, it was now that she also noticed a small scratch on her nose as well.

"What did you think was going to happen, he was going to toss you some damn doggie treats?" Kaleua continued on her rant. She was pacing and circling back and forth making a mess of paw prints in the snow. Aleu glared, deciding to hold back the snarl deep within her and opting to not feed in to Kaleua's rage like before, she started to head back to the trail. She knew the sun would come out soon, but she still wanted to see what was over on the other side of the mountain, and her patience was wearing thin.

"Hey hybrid, you want to inform me on what you think you're doing?" Kaleua shouted from the trees. Aleu was one more insult away from leaving her behind all together. She made it back onto the sled trail and began to follow it. She knew it was the quickest way up, and she also knew that if she wanted to refrain from taking any unnecessary aggression out, the trail would keep Kaleua far enough away from her until she calmed down.

Kaleua was enraged at this girls actions. She put both of them in danger. Humans were not to be trusted. You couldn't read their intensions, you couldn't defend yourself from their long range attacks. They could kill you before you could smell them. Kaleua would never trust humans, and she could barely tolerate the dogs.

Aleu was still trotting away. She didn't want to go too fast because she would catch up to the dogs, but she still wanted to get up to the mountain before daybreak. She assumed this strange man was going fishing. It was the only reason he would be up this early. This made it clear to her that there must be another trail down to lower ground where there would be water. If she saw that, then she would speed up and trust her instincts.

She could hear Kaleua behind her. Her footsteps were loud in the snow and she sounded like she was farther back.

"Perhaps she's having some trouble getting through the untouched snow and carving a path through trees?" Aleu thought. She pictured Kaleua in her head tripping over deadfall and going face first into the snow. This settled her back down. She would make use of her care free pace and Kaleua could be stuck in her ways. For now, Aleu liked the feeling of being at least a little smarter.

It wasn't a short time after that they did indeed come across and spilt in the path. Aleu saw that one side went left, and cut across Kaleua's path, and another clearly went to higher ground.

"Just as I thought." Aleu said and she perked her head up from sniffing the snow on the detour.

"What?" Kaleua said a little out of breath and slightly agitated.

"He went that way down to a water source, you can see and smell his tracks." Aleu said proudly. Looks like her knowledge about humans had served her right again. "I'm going to take this trail up to the top. We can make up ground, now that I know which direction he went." Aleu stated.

Kaleua hesitated. She didn't want to have to step foot on the trail, but in order to continue she would have to. It was blocking her make-shift 'nature path' to the top of the mountain. She looked down at her paws, she could almost see how tired they were. Her fur was soaking wet up to her knees from walking in the wet snow and she knew that as they went higher up the snow would get deeper on the outskirts.

"I guess I'll see you there?" Aleu raised her eyebrow and grinned. Kaleua didn't take fondly to the taunt but didn't budge. "It won't be your first time stepping on one of these trails today Kaleua, come on!" Aleu called out as she began running up the trail. Kaleua treaded carefully, inching her way onto the path. She gave her legs a shake hoping to bring them back to life. Running might warm them back up a little she thought. So she started off behind Aleu, not wanting to get too far behind.

After another hour or so they had made it to the top. The pair sat on a ridge that mimicked Pride Rock looking over the land. Aleu could see a long way off into the distance and something caught her eye.

It was a herd of caribou. What was important was that they were running and they were scattering.

"They're getting chased by something." Kaleua inferred. She was right. Not a second after you could see a couple figures following behind, although it was too far to make out if there were any in the bushes following the hunt.

The two sat for a few minutes and contemplated their options. They knew roughly how far this other pack was. Quite the journey, especially as it was evident that there was plenty of food here. This was exactly what Aleu was wondering.

"Why do you think they came to our kill?" Aleu asked.

"Maybe the same reason we came to them." Kaleua answered, deep in thought.

The caribou and pack disappeared into the trees and this gave time for Aleu and Kaleua to think.

They sat there for some time, not completely sure about what to do next. Should they head closer to try and get more information for the pack, or come back with the pack to maintain strength in numbers?

It wasn't long before their decision could possibly be made for them as another creature stepped his paw out from his hiding place.

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Yea! Another two chapter day! Feels so good to crank another one out for you guys. Thanks for all the love and support, especially for those who have reviewed. So glad to hear you like what's happened so far. I love to leave you guys on a cliff hanger per usual, hopefully it won't be too long before you get to see what's next. Talk to you guys again soon!


	8. Peak Shift

Both girls turned around. Their observer was now standing tall against the snowy bushes, making it hard to quickly distinguish his size due to his white coat. His eyes were dark in color Aleu noticed as she stood up and walked away from the edge of the cliff to ensure she wasn't in a disadvantageous position.

Kaleua followed her, still taken slightly off guard by the intruder, but confident in their strength in numbers should he attack. She took note of his body language, non-threatening, however she knew this was easily manipulated.

"Who are you?" Aleu asked, taking charge. His scent now filled her nose as the wind changed direction. He was a musky pine, with a slight sea salt scent. She concluded he must have recently spent time by the shore.

"I'd like you to answer that question first." He answered. While still conveying a peaceful nature he wanted to get answers for himself first.

"There's two of us and one of you, I think it might be best for you to answer our questions." Kaleua barked assertively. She didn't want to lose the dominant edge of this conversation and knew it would be unwise to give an unknown any information about themselves.

The wind changed direction again and blew his extremely thick white fur back into his broad chest. He paced to his left revealing a thin streak of light and dark grey colours along his strong back to the end of his tail. Aleu had never seen a wolf like this before. Although she did recall her farther describing his mother. White fur like snow. She imagined she must have looked similar to him. She secretly hoped she would gain this trait as she got older and reached her full size.

Briefly becoming lost in her thoughts, she came back to reality as this large male wolf sat himself down between her and Kaleua and their only exit.

"I'm not one who worries about numbers." He said in response to Kaleua's attempted threat, "It's been a while since I've seen any outside wolves in these parts. I'm curious as to where you came from." His tail flickered the snow behind him, as if clearing a comfortable space for himself to wait for the answers he wanted. Aleu was curious too, so she started asking some questions of her own.

"Is that your clan?" Aleu said and nodded towards the last known sighting of the other wolves. She sat down now as well, recognising there wasn't going to be an exit unless questions were answered on both parts.

"No, it is not. I assume then that two of you have your own to go back to?" He decided to give them just one answer, hoping it would convince them to give up some of their own information.

"Maybe we do," Kaleua answered, "what's it to you?"

"Nothing really, just curious how a whole pack of wolves made their way onto this island." He answered calmly, shaking his upper body making himself look much larger. He didn't seem bothered by the cold at all, this mountain made him feel at home.

"We crossed the ice." Aleu said, leaving out the part about their possibility of starving in their previous territory. Not wanting to seem weak to this guy as they couldn't presently be sure if he was telling the truth or not.

"You must have come from the opposite side of the island then." He responded. Coming up with this information looking only at Aleu's coat. There was only one wolf he knew which resembled her.

Now getting up, he decided he had the information he wanted. They seemed innocent, even likable. Not wanting to leave them with no information he decided to leave them with just a tad-bit.

"Be wary, others may not take too kindly to sharing."

Aleu watched him get up and turn his back to them as he took off in the direction he had come, both away from the other clan, and away from them. His final words gave her the answers she needed. Both satisfied with her new information relating to the other pack but unsatisfied by the introduction of new questions, she got up.

"I think we need to head home." She said to Kaleua, who seemed to be open to agreeing with her more often now.

The sun was currently beaming down on the frozen ground as the two headed back down the trail. Kaleua was a little less nervous about traveling on man-made trails, mostly because it was faster, and partly because she was recognising the knowledge Aleu had about humans was useful. It would make it easier for her to avoid them.

Aleu welcomed the sun on their journey home. It warmed her light brown fur right down to her socked paws. She had never liked her colors before, as they made her an outsider back home, but now while still looking different than the others she felt it was a good different. Unique more so. The light beige that came up to her knees reminded her of her mother's beautiful coat, but the colors and thickness gave her the wolf nature she felt she was learning to embody more.

With a bit of new found confidence in herself after a successful journey she looked forward to spreading the new information to her clan, despite the possibility of a threat. At least they had found it, and that meant they could be ready for it if/when it came.

Breaking the previous silence Kaleua spoke,

"This was a good idea. I have to admit, you are due a little more credit. You are wise for your young age, but you still have a lot of work to do. " She added a bit more emphasis on the 'a lot', but Aleu would certainly take the compliment.

The journey had brought them closer despite Aleu's lack of survival knowledge, and Kaleua's frequent aggression issues. They both hoped that their new friendship would help them in the impending conflict that was yet to come.

With a new respect for each other, they could now turn to the more serious matter once they arrived home. What should they do about the other pack? Who was this foreign stranger? Their future seemed uncertain at least for the moment, but Aleu would be ready, and she would be waiting to prove herself to not just everyone else, but also to herself.


	9. PROFILE SWITCH

Hi everyone!

I'd just like to update you guys and let you know that I will be moving this story over to my new profile.

I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience for you all, as I genuinely wish I had thought about switching profiles sooner before starting to post this. I go into explanations in greater detail on my profile if you wish to know more.

I hope to see all of you guys there supporting it there just as much as you did here as I love writing for you guys! Updates will be coming more frequently now as I'm finished school for another few weeks.

The following is a link to the new profile, and on it will be A NEW CHAPTER! Be careful you guys, this ones got lots of new interesting info in it for you guys to indulge in!

u/7333964/Enrya

Thanks for reading and see up at the new chapter!


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